


Kiss With a Fang

by AnExhaustedArmadillo



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - The Handmaid's Tale Fusion, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captivity, Character Turned Into Vampire, Codependency, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fascistic Regime, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of Control, M/M, PINING KEITH, Power Imbalance, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Vampires, War Talks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-05-28 19:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19400704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnExhaustedArmadillo/pseuds/AnExhaustedArmadillo
Summary: Vampires had lived among humans for centuries, hiding and assimilating. But, one day, a vampire by the name of Zarkon decided to amass a revolution, overthrowing the human government and enslaving them all. Lance, a human, was forced into servitude and eventually given as a gift to vampire Commander Keith. The Commander hadn't wanted a concubine at all, so he was shocked to find himself actually falling in love with the human. Lance was even more surprised to find that he may have been falling in love, too. They find a sense of peace and friendship together. But, Commander Lotor, whose rivalry with Keith is legendary, isn't going to let the two of them have a happily ever after, not in the new world.This is largely inspired by the Handmaid's Tale, just with a vampiric twist. There is no dubcon or noncon between Keith and Lance at all, but this is still a very dark world.





	1. Blood Flow

Keith slammed the door hard when he got home. He winced. He hadn't meant for it to be that loud. Sighing, he slipped his briefcase off of his shoulder and let it drop to the floor. He stretched, and went to sit down in his living room.

The living room was decently sized, but it felt much larger than it was due to the lack of furniture. There was a small white couch in the center of the room, with a simple glass coffee table in front of it. There was a TV directly across from the couch and a bookshelf on the far left wall. There were no paintings or decorations on any of the beige walls, and sometimes the lighting made the room both look and feel like a prison cell. The only redeeming part of the room was the fact that Lance sat curled on the couch, staring at the TV, but not really watching.

“Hey, how was work?” Lance asked, turning to face him. Keith groaned softly, making his way to collapse onto the couch next to Lance. He just shrugged, not dignifying Lance's question with a response. Lance wasn't done, though.

“Did you manage to get the Washington sanctions passed?”

“No,” Keith refused to elaborate. Lance shifted to stare at him intently.

“Are you alright?” Lance asked quietly.

“I’m fine,” Keith said, sounding a little shorter than he meant to.

“No, you’re not. When was the last time you ate?” Lance asked, though Keith didn’t respond. Lance huffed at him.

“Keith.”

“A week, week and a half. I don’t know,” Keith finally admitted. Lance sighed at him, disappointed, but with a sort of fondness behind it. He started unbuttoning the sleeve on his shirt, but Keith moved to stop him. “No, Lance, I don’t need to.”

“I’ll be fine, Keith. You deserve to eat. And I don’t mind.”

“But-”

“Honestly, Keith, I’d rather just not argue about it,” Lance insisted, effectively ending the argument. They argued almost every time Lance offered to let Keith drink his blood. And, almost every time, Lance won the argument and Keith ended up giving into temptation and drinking his blood. Keith supposed that it would probably be quicker if he just gave up and stopped trying to fight the inevitable. He sat up straight, bringing Lance’s wrist up to his mouth. It was warm, he noticed, before he sank his fangs into the veins.

Lance let out a soft whine as Keith drained his blood. He had to be careful to pace himself. He was unlikely to actually hurt Lance by drinking too much, he never needed to drink that much blood, but he still hated seeing Lance so feeble and tired after he fed. After a few long minutes of sucking Lance’s blood, Keith pulled away. He licked over the bite marks with his tongue in order to speed up the healing process. Lance let his head fall back onto the top of the couch, eyes closed.

“Better?” He asked, smiling kindly.

“Much. Thank you, Lance,” Keith said. He then got up to to go to the kitchen to make Lance a sandwich. It was a tradition of sorts, for them. After Lance fed Keith with his blood, Keith would go to the kitchen and make a sandwich, or some other quick snack, to feed Lance. The food in the kitchen was all for Lance- since he was the only human who ate in Keith's home- and often it was filled with food that Keith had no idea how to cook. It was all spices and secret recipes passed down from Lance’s Cuban grandmother. Keith tended to just stick with sandwiches.

When he returned with the customary snack, Lance was almost asleep. He perked up, though, gleefully taking the sandwich and inhaling in a few large bites. Keith couldn’t help the pang that hit his chest watching. Lance was so happy, so grateful, for a sandwich he only had because Keith had sucked his blood. This was the new normal, Keith reminded himself, trying to hide his discomfort.

Lance finished his sandwich and then turned so that he could lay his head on Keith’s chest. Without hesitation or thought, Keith wrapped an arm around Lance’s shoulders. This was another one of their habits. After a feeding, Lance was almost always exhausted, and he preferred to fall asleep clinging to some part of Keith’s body. Keith couldn’t understand why. Unlike Lance, Keith ran incredibly cold, due to his vampirism. Hugging him must feel like holding an icicle, but Lance always insisted on it.

It wasn’t romantic, though. Never romantic. It was supposed to be, _they_ were supposed to be. But Keith hadn’t asked for that, hadn’t wanted it. Lance seemed to be perfectly content with the platonic friendship they had cultivated, and Keith would never dare ruin it by pursuing a romance.

He thought back to when they first met, how nervous Lance had been. Keith couldn’t blame him for it. In the world they were living in, fear was the only thing that kept them safe.

Lance came into Keith’s life at the same time the house they now lived in had. They had both been gifts, from their Supreme Commander, Zarkon. Keith was unable to refuse either. The house, larger than the one Keith had lived in before, didn’t feel like a home as much as it felt like a cage. It was empty, in the sort of way no amount of furniture could ever solve. Lance had been a stranger, someone who had looked completely out of place the day he'd come to Keith's doorstep.

“May the night be long,” Lance had said upon meeting him.

“Let the blood flow freely,” Keith had said in standard response, standing aside to let Lance inside his new home. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Keith had taken him to the living room first, even more empty then, and to the kitchen. He had apologized for the lack of human food in the house, explaining he hadn’t been quite prepared. He then took Lance upstairs to the bedrooms. 

“This one’s yours,” Keith had said, gesturing weakly to the room. It, like so much of the house, was almost empty. There was a bed, sitting in the middle of the wall, with some of the ugliest brown covers Keith had ever seen in his life. There was a dresser next to the bed, and a small closet next to that. 

“ _My_ room, sir?” Lance had asked quietly. Keith knew what he was really asking. Lance was living with Keith under the Concubine Contract. Such an agreement was understood to mean engaging in activities typical of concubines. Keith hadn't wanted a concubine, however, and his opinion on the matter hadn't changed.

“You, uh, you don’t have to call me sir,” Keith had explained first. He wasn’t sure he should have said that. In the world they lived in, breaking tradition could mean instant death. “And, yes, _your_ room. I know what this… arrangement is, but, trust me, I didn’t want it. Our Supreme Commander orchestrated it, blessed be his wisdom.” Keith had added the last part so as not to seem as much a heretic as he certainly already did.

“Oh,” Lance had said, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. “I’m sorry for burdening you this way.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. This is not your fault, at all. I’m sure you’re just as unhappy as I am. Not that I’m displeased with you! Just with the situation,” Keith floundered. He thought he saw Lance smile for a second, before it was gone. Keith had finished showing Lance around the house, and that had been the end of that.

That day had been many months ago, and since then Lance had fit himself into Keith's life like he was always meant to be there. The house Keith lived in was lifeless and dull, but Lance made it into a home.

Together they sat on the couch, letting the TV blare dull news for them to be numb to. The TV nowadays only got three channels. One was the news, the other was the government’s official channel (which was essentially the same as the news), and the third was live feed of the various security cameras around different cities, meant to showcase the conditions humans were kept in. Lance had been watching the news, which was certainly the most palatable of the three channels.

_“... It would seem that, despite continued efforts on the part of the Supreme Commander’s forces, resistance along the Western border has persisted. The border of Indiana is still a center of massive warfare, with no advances being made on either side. We have reason to believe that the Western rebels are being given aid by the Canadian government, though these claims are still officially denied. Supreme Commander Zarkon will be meeting with the Canadian government in order…”_

Keith tuned the news out, choosing instead to focus on the human whose head was on his shoulder. He was positive that Lance was asleep. His heartbeat was slow and his breathing was deep and steady. Keith thought to himself that he could listen to nothing but Lance’s breathing for the rest of his life and he'd be content. He turned so he could press his lips to the top of Lance’s head, breathing his scent in for a long moment.

Keith sighed quietly to himself. He knew he should take Lance to his room. Not for the first time, Keith thought about how things would be if he hadn't given Lance his own room. Keith imagined what it would be like to wake up surrounded by sheets that smelled like Lance. He felt guilty at the thought. He would never invade Lance's privacy like that by forcing them to share a room.

Bringing Lance gently into his arms, Keith carried him upstairs. He laid Lance on the bed, pulling the covers up around him. Keith couldn’t help but think that that was how it was meant to be; Lance wrapped in warmth, not holding onto an a cold vampire like Keith. Lance nestled his head into the pillow. He looked more at peace asleep than he ever did awake. Keith felt a stabbing feeling in his heart, but he pushed the feeling down, not ready to admit what it meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought in the comments!  
> I have a few other chapters drafted, I'll try to get them up soon, but no promises.  
> Comments (and kudos, too) really do mean the world, so if you have a minute, it would make my day.  
> The plan is for this to be a decently long work, with about a dozen chapters, most longer than this one.  
> Thank you so much for reading!


	2. "Slice of Life"

Contrary to the mythology, vampires did need to sleep. Keith just didn’t sleep as much as any human, or vampire, for that matter, should. He was lucky to get even a couple of hours at night, too busy working or worrying. Whenever he did manage to get to sleep, so late that it was almost morning, it was impossible for him to wake up.

It was no surprise, then, that Lance had to manually wake Keith most mornings. It had gotten to the point months ago that Keith didn’t bother setting an alarm, he’d sleep through it and Lance would wake him anyway. Not worth the trouble.

That particular morning, Lance didn’t need to wake Keith, he woke naturally, the smell of eggs and toast hitting Keith’s nose like an ocean wave and coaxing him awake. He sighed. After being turned into a vampire, he had no real appetite for anything other than blood. Living with Lance, smelling his cooking, watching him eat, it reminded Keith of what it had been like to be human. A lot of things Lance did reminded Keith about what it had been like to be a human.

Stumbling downstairs, he paused at the door to the kitchen. Lance was flipping an egg into the air, dancing to the music playing faintly over the radio. Keith loved watching Lance like this. When he and Lance had first started living together, there had been no moments like this. Lance wouldn’t have looked him in the eye, much less danced in his kitchen.

Even now, when Lance caught Keith lurking in the doorway, he stopped dancing. Keith smiled softly, passing through the kitchen to the dining room where he sat and waited for Lance to finish cooking his breakfast.

The dining room, like the rest of the house, was incredibly old. The wooden floors, though they shined from hours of scrubbing, creaked when walked on. There was a chandelier above the table which looked incomplete without cobwebs. The table itself was the center of the room and the only furniture of note. It was long one way and short the other, a darker wood than the floorboards. Two chairs sat across from each other, and Keith slid into one.

“Did I wake you?” Lance asked, entering the dining room carrying a plate.

“The eggs did,” Keith responded. “How are you feeling?” He asked, in reference to last night’s feeding.

“I feel sunny side up,” Lance said, gesturing with his entire egg on his fork. Keith couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he watched Lance tuck into his meal. A few minutes of silence passed before Keith spoke again.

“I’m meeting with Lotor today.”

“Oh,” Lance said, showing the distaste that Keith felt. “About the Washington sanctions?”

“That, and the fighting in Indiana.”

Lance put his fork down, “They’re not going to send you there, are they?”

“They will if it gets much worse,” Keith leaned forward in his seat.

“Is it really that bad?”

“They haven’t made any advances. I’ll find out officially today, but, if I had to guess, the rebels are getting aid from Washington, as well as Canada. Zarkon wants that capital. He’s not going to sit for a stalemate, which means either a strike with some major firepower is on its way, or a bunch of soldiers are,” Keith began pulling at a chip in the wooden table.

“Right, but would you really be the first they send? You’re a Commander, you’re needed here.”

“You’re right, I really wouldn’t be much use there. I can fight better than most of our actual soldiers, but they wouldn’t have me fighting, they’d have me pushing paper. But Lotor hates me, and if he sees an opportunity to push me out and get me killed, he’ll take it,” Keith said. Lance looked at him thoughtfully for a second.

“Couldn’t Lotor use this as a chance to establish himself in Zarkon’s favor? If the capital is really that important to him, whoever can get it would be pretty good in his books.”

“That’s smart. I don’t know if Lotor is smart enough to see it that way,” Keith said, sitting back a little.

“No, but you are,” Lance said simply. “It’s time for me to get going. Good luck at work, Keith.”

Lance hopped up from the table and pulled on his government issued bright red jacket. Keith watched from the window as Lance met his walking buddy at the front gate. Lance’s walking buddy was named Hunk, if Keith’s memory served him correctly.

Lance and Hunk worked at the same place, the Center for Imperial Children, a glorified daycare. Pure children of officials went there, ages zero to twelve, before they moved on to their upper educational centers. They had only human carers, meant in part to teach them to control their bloodlust, and because vampires were deemed too valuable for such labor. Lance had had a rather large family before the revolution, and Keith knew working around all the children made him feel somewhat at home.

Keith was pulled out of his musings by the beeping on his watch which meant that he had to leave for work. Keith worked at the Center of Command. He was part of various councils which governed Galrad and led the war efforts. Keith was a Turned vampire, not a Pure one, so it was considered unusual that he was allowed to hold such a position. But Keith had fought in the war, gained Zarkon's favor, and a high rank was the reward for doing so.

Keith’s meeting with Lotor was the first item on his agenda, which was good because Keith would’ve spent the entire day dreading it if he couldn’t get it out of the way. Lotor was already waiting in Keith’s office when he arrived. He sat sprawled in the chair behind Keith’s desk, tossing a ball in the air as if he was completely bored.

“Commander Lotor,” Keith greeted him coldly.

“Keith!” Lotor exclaimed, standing from Keith’s chair and opening his arms, as if for a hug but both of them knew that wasn’t going to happen. “How are you?”

“I am well, Commander, and you?”

“I am just great,” Lotor said, still not moving out from behind Keith’s desk. Keith stared at him for a second, before Lotor feigned surprise. “Oh, silly me, here you go.” And Lotor finally moved. Keith sat behind his desk, briefcase at his side.

“Shall we begin?”

“Always right to business with you,” Lotor shook his head playfully. “Yes, so, for the Washington Sanctions, they’re not working.”

“Yes, we should increase measures,” Keith said, pulling out his laptop to write down any important developments, though he doubted there would be anything worth recording.

“We _should_ take military action,” Lotor countered.

“Not while we’re still fighting in Indiana. We can’t fight a two front war. Once we win in Indiana, we can talk about attacking the ex-capital. Right now, we can use economic sanctions to weaken them further.”

“Yes, of course. We already have significant trade sanctions against them. Not even Canada’s trading with them anymore.”

“No,” Keith agreed. “But China is. As long as their biggest trade partner is supporting them, they’ve got some stability. Right now, China is struggling because they lost us as a customer for a lot of goods. If we start buying again, we have a chance at pressuring them to cut off trade,” Keith held his breath. He had been pushing for these sanctions for months.

“Interesting. What would we start buying?” Lotor asked, looking genuinely interested, for once.

“The biggest thing we bought from them before was technology. Computers, cellphones, all of that,” Keith informed him. Lotor frowned.

“Well that could continue for officials, but that’s a small percentage of our population. Not enough to use as leverage,” Lotor said, and Keith was a little surprised by his sound reasoning.

“Right, well, I was thinking, what if we look into some pager technology? Nothing too advanced, so it couldn’t be manipulated easily by the rebels, but it could be used for quick contact. Say a Commander wants to give directions out to Fangs or something like that. Or we could use it to send mass messages from our Supreme Commander, or alerts in the event of an emergency,” Keith suggested, holding his breath when he finished. If he could convince Lotor to buy the pager technology, it would slow down the war path.

“Interesting,” Lotor repeated thoughtfully. “What if we looked into tracking tech instead? Obviously, we’ve already instituted some tracking devices, but it’d be ideal to make it more widespread. We could track all the humans, not just concubines. I’ll bring it up to the Supreme Commander,” Lotor said with an air of finality, cutting off the protests Keith was trying to make. That wasn’t what he wanted at all. Superior tracking tech could seriously infringe on resistance movements. Still, Lotor was right, a significant amount of humans already had trackers implanted, so it wouldn’t be that big of a change, just enough to leverage China. It would slow down the war. Keith held back a groan. It wasn’t ideal, but it would do.

“Now, onto this issue of Indiana,” Lotor switched the subject. “The fighting isn’t going anywhere. Supreme Commander Zarkon is hesitant to use firepower because he wants to salvage the capital. He’s thinking about sending in a mass reinforcement effort,” Lotor stopped abruptly.

“And?” Keith prompted, already knowing what Lotor was going to say.

“And, how would you feel about going?” Lotor asked, pretending to wince sympathetically. Keith forced his face to brighten.

“That sounds like a great opportunity. Anything to serve our Supreme Commander. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled once we, the military, that is, conquer Indiana once and for all,” Keith made sure his meaning was clear. He saw Lotor’s mouth tighten. He’d won that point.

“Well, of course, nothing is set in stone.”

“Of course,” Keith said, then paused. “Are the rumors true, is Washington giving them aid as well?”

“Surprisingly,” And Lotor did look oddly perplexed. “No. We don’t know where they’re getting all of their resources from. Canada is good, but they’re not the only supplier.”

“Interesting,” Said Keith, trying to look like he was mulling the information over.

“Interesting, indeed. But, anyway, that’s the update on the Indiana situation. A call for recruits should be made within the month.”

“Great,” Keith said, smiling, trying to signal that the meeting was over. Lotor stood, but instead of walking towards the door, he stepped closer to Keith’s desk.

“How are you holding up, Keith?” Lotor asked knowingly. Keith furrowed his brow.

“I'm fine,” He said shortly, not knowing what Lotor was referring to, but sure he wouldn't like what was said next.

“Good, I was worried you’d become attached to your concubine. I told our Supreme Commander you’d get attached, but I’m glad to hear you’re doing alright,” Lotor grinned, showing too many teeth. Keith tensed.

“My concubine? What does he have to- what are you talking about?”

“Well, seeing as your contract is coming to an end. It has been about a year, hasn’t it? Unless, were you planning to buy?” Lotor continued, false concern painted on his face. He checked his watch. “Oh, my, I’m going to be late. A pleasure as always, Keith.”

“Let the blood flow,” Keith said softly, trying to process the information.

“May the Supreme Commander bless you,” Lotor replied in kind. Keith sat at his desk in shock for a moment after Lotor closed the door behind him. He breathed heavily, typing frantically on his computer to pull up the documents detailing his arrangement with Lance.

His arrangement with Lance was the standard; concubine for rent. He knew he didn’t own Lance permanently, that was expensive, even for Keith’s Commander salary, but he didn’t think their arrangement had been _that_ short.

Sure enough, when Keith opened the document, it was noted that his ownership of Lance was to end September 25th, three and a half weeks from today. Shit, Keith thought. He was so fucked.

***

Keith was nervous to tell Lance. They were friends, he was sure of that, but he didn’t know how Lance would feel about terminating their arrangement. A part of Keith was worried he’d be excited. Keith wasn’t cruel to Lance, at least, he didn’t think he was, but Lance didn’t have his freedom living with Keith. Not that Lance would really ever have his freedom as long as he lived in Galrad. Still, Keith knew he had to tell Lance. He waited until dinner time, when Lance sat in front of him, across their chipped wooden table.

“Lance,” Keith began, and Lance perked up immediately. “I found out today, after talking with Lotor, that our… arrangement is ending. It’s been almost a year since you’ve been here.” Lance stopped chewing his dinner and put his fork down.

“What?”

“Our contract was only for the year. So, I won't hold your contract for much longer.”

“Wow,” Lance said, sitting back in his chair, thinking. “What, what happens now?”

“You’ll go back to Housing,” Keith said quietly, staring at his lap.

“Is that what you want?” Lance asked, and Keith didn't know how Lance could ask him that. It wasn't about what he wanted, though.

“What do you want, Lance?” Keith looked up then, staring into Lance’s face, but he couldn’t read his thoughts at all.

“Keith… if you’ll have me…. I’ll stay here,” Lance looked at Keith through his lashes as he said it and Keith swallowed.

“Are you sure?”

“Here’s better than Housing. And if I’m at Housing, another Commander could rent me. At least I know you.”

“Right,” Keith said, trying not to sound disappointed. He’d hoped Lance would want to stay with him. But he knew that was a lot to ask. Lance was a prisoner, Keith was just a kind jailer. He honestly thought Lance would be at least a little more upset at the possibility of them being separated. He supposed, though, that the chance of them being separated was slim, in all fairness.

“Besides,” Lance continued. “I like you. I like living here.” Keith almost believed him when he said it. He forced a smile onto his face. Keith was glad that Lance said he wanted to stay with Keith. Keith wasn’t sure he actually would’ve let Lance go if he’d said otherwise. He liked to think he would’ve honored Lance’s wishes if he’d said he wanted to go back to Housing, but he wasn’t sure. Lance had become such a fixture in Keith’s life over the past year, he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to let him go. Keith stifled back a shudder at the implications of his own thoughts.

“I’ll call tomorrow and tell them I’d like to renew our contract,” Keith said, and they finished the meal in companionable silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, an update. I'm enjoying writing this.  
> But, comments really, REALLY motivate me to write.  
> Let me know what you think of the story so far!  
> Thank you for reading!


	3. The Contract

“Hi, this is Commander Kogane, I’d like to discuss renewing my contract?” Keith opened on the phone. He was calling the Center of Concubines and Subservients to renew his arrangement with Lance.

“Commander Kogane,” The operator repeated, as if searching his name in the computer. “Ah, yes, one year contract, set to expire in about three weeks. The subject is one Lance McClain, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Alright, let’s see here, you’re looking to renew? Oh,” The phone operator stopped suddenly.

“Is something wrong?” Keith asked. The operator sighed.

“Sir, I’m not sure if you remember, but when you first signed your contract, you marked an intent _not_ to renew.” The operator informed him.

“So?” Keith said. It was just an intent, it didn’t actually bind him to anything.

“When one of our humans is marked with intent not to renew, we allow them on the market to be purchased or rented upon the expiration of a contract,” The operator seemed reluctant to continue.

“And…?”

“And it appears as if Mr. McClain has already been purchased upon the expiry of your contract.” Keith groaned.

“Alright, can we open up bidding, then?” Keith asked. That was how the Center made a significant portion of its profits. Bidding wars could be pricey- and they could be messy- but as a commander, Keith was sure he had enough funds to pull from.

“Of course. I will notify the current contract holder and we can begin that process immediately,” The operator said politely, though his tone was odd.

“Can I ask who purchased the contract?”

“Of course, since such records are public. It looks like the current holder is Commander Lotor.” Keith’s heart sank into his stomach.

***

Keith’s biggest regret in life was also probably his greatest achievement. About a year ago, Keith had saved the life of Supreme Commander Zarkon.

After the foundation of the Galrad Republic, there remained quite a few... dissenters. Heretics. Rebels. They were called many things, but the sentiment was always the same. And, during one of the early days in Galrad, in one of their initial meetings at the Center of Command, one of the rebels broke in.

Keith remembered how quickly everything had happened. The rebel burst through the glass doors to the conference room that all the commanders were in. To this day, no one knew how he had gotten ahold of a gun, but the rebel opened fire immediately. Keith watched for a split second as the rebel turned his gun on Zarkon. Without thinking, Keith tackled him to the ground, sustaining a gunshot wound to the side himself. Everything after that moment was a little blurry. One of the guards must have rushed in because the gunshots stopped. Keith remembered being pulled off of Zarkon’s body, in too much pain to move himself.

The rebel was hung the next day. It was highly publicized, and the remnants of torture on the man’s body did not go unnoticed. The next day, when Keith was recovering in the hospital, Zarkon visited him and Keith hadn’t even been able to stand and give a proper bow. Zarkon gave him one of his old houses, the house he lived in today, as a thank you.

Zarkon’s other thank you gift had been Lance. A one year contract to rent a concubine free of charge. It was most vampires’ dream come true. It was Keith’s nightmare.

At the time, Keith hadn’t wanted a concubine. Keith, historically, was a loner. The idea of sharing his space with someone was abhorrent. Especially someone he didn’t know. Especially a human.

Of course, Keith couldn’t turn down Zarkon’s offer. To do so would have been incredibly disrespectful and may have cost him his position as commander. Not to mention the fact that reluctance to have a concubine would have brought immeasurable suspicion on him, probably resulting in his own execution one day.

Regardless, Keith had been less than pleased to have a concubine. Now, though, after almost a year of living with Lance, he couldn’t imagine it any other way.

Lance and Keith had never done anything typical of the traditional role of concubine. Keith had told Lance upon his arrival that he hadn’t asked for him and didn’t particularly want him there. Soon after, he had promised Lance that he would never touch him without his consent, would never take what wasn’t his. Keith tried to tell himself that he was fine with that, that he was content. It was a lie.

It may have once been true. Before Lance wormed his way into Keith’s heart, Keith was probably content with the two of them ignoring each other. But now? Lance had become a fixture in Keith’s life.

Lance’s scent was all over his house. Lance’s food was in Keith’s refrigerator. Often, it was the only thing in Keith’s refrigerator. Lance’s music and dancing was in his kitchen, and his voice as he sang along to various songs carried through the house. Lance turned on the TV at night and the white noise buzzed in Keith’s veins.

Lance was the only thing worthwhile in Keith’s life of luxury. He couldn’t bear letting him go. He couldn’t live with himself if he let him be purchased by Lotor.

***

“Lance,” Keith began slowly. It was evening and they were sitting in front of the TV. Lance muted it when Keith said his name. “Do you remember how we talked about renewing the contract?”

“Seeing as it was yesterday, yes, I remember. Why?” Lance said, turning on the couch to face Keith directly. Keith breathed in.

“It turns out… someone put in a request for purchase.” Keith said.

“Really? Okay. Well, that’s not the end of the world, right? You can open it up to bidding. Who requested purchase?” Lance said. Keith looked down at his hands. He didn’t respond.

“Keith?” Lance asked after a long moment. Keith still didn’t meet his eyes.

“Lotor put in the request,” He said quietly. Lance didn’t respond to that. After a long moment of silence, Keith slowly raised his head to look at Lance. Lance’s face was slack, his eyes unfocused. He wasn’t crying, but Keith could tell he wasn’t alright.

“Lance, it’ll be okay, I promise,” Keith started to say, moving to wrap an arm around Lance, but he pulled away.

“No, it’s not. You can’t outbid him. Keith, you couldn’t even try,” Lance said softly and Keith knew he was right. He didn’t know what to say to that.

“Lance, it’ll be alright. I won’t let him take you, I promise,” Keith said, but Lance wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“You promise?” Lance asked, smiling without humor. “Promises mean nothing, Keith. It doesn’t mean shit.”

“I’m not going to let this happen, Lance, I swear, I’m not,” Keith implored him, but Lance just shook his head, standing in front of Keith who was still seated on the couch.

“For once, Keith, you are just as helpless as I am,” Lance said bitterly. He turned to walk off, shoulders wavering uncertainly. Keith stood to follow him, not done trying to reassure him.

“I’d like to be alone,” Lance said, stopping Keith in his tracks. He watched helplessly as Lance climbed up the steps slowly. He collapsed back onto his couch, head in his hands. He couldn’t let this happen, but, Lance was right. He really was helpless.

Still, Keith waited a moment, to give Lance at least a second to breathe, before he followed him up the stairs. Lance had shut the door to his room and, though it didn’t have a lock, Keith respected him too much to barge his way in. Instead, he sat outside of the door quietly, listening to the sound of Lance’s heartbeat.

He remembered how he had chosen Lance. Zarkon’s contract was unlimited, it was for any human for Keith’s choosing. About a year ago, he’d gone to the Center for Concubines and Subservients directly.

The building was relatively small for a Center. Keith made his way through several halls that felt alarmingly corporate before settling in front of a desk in the Department of Contracts. The vampire clerk behind the desk had typed on his computer incessantly for a long minute before looking up at Keith.

“So, you have a very special contract,” She began. “Saving our Supreme Commander’s life and all that. Very exciting. This is, however, a little unprecedented. We have a standard questionnaire for matching concubines and vampires, but certain questions don’t apply to you in quite the same way.”

“Alright,” Keith said, rubbing his hands on his knees uncomfortably.

“Great! So, first question, gender preference? Typically female concubines are more expensive, because of the limited fertility. Now, that’s not an immediate concern since your contract is paid for, but it is something to consider if you think about renewing,” She said. Keith thought, but not about contract renewals. Maybe if he got a male concubine it would feel like living with a roommate instead of what was basically a sex slave. He shuddered nonetheless.

“Male.”

“Awesome. Our age range options are 12-16, 17-21, 22-26, 27-32, 32-40, 40+. Preference?” Keith had to repress a grimace at hearing they rented out concubines as young as twelve. He thought about his own age, though it was hard to quantify what that was with being a vampire.

“Honestly, anyone 18 and up is fine,” Keith swallowed uncertainly. She smiled at him, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Fantastic. Body type preference?” Keith groaned internally. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so uncomfortable.

“Anything is fine.” There was more typing on the computer.

“Alright. Blood type preference?”

“Uh, I don’t have a preference.”

“Any racial preferences?”

“I honestly don’t care.” The woman conducting the test stopped typing in favor of looking at him directly.

“I appreciate how flexible you are, but it honestly helps our system to narrow down your options with the more preferences you express.” Keith nodded like he agreed, though he was sure his dissatisfaction was clear. “Great. Would you prefer a concubine with experience or a new candidate?”

“Um, I guess someone who hasn’t been a concubine is fine, but I honestly don’t mind.” She smiled at him again, in that same unsettling fashion.

“Awesome. Now, we can have concubines shipped in from all over Galrad. And don’t worry, your contract doesn’t start until delivery, so travel time is not an issue. Is there any region you’d prefer or any you’d like to exclude?”

“Actually, yes, I’d really only like a concubine from the region. I don’t want anyone to have to relocate.”

“Great, great,” She said, typing a few more words into the computer. “Now personality wise is where things can get a little complicated. We have all concubines and potential concubines take a test to determine several traits. There’s no guarantee for honesty, but we’ve never had any complaints about inaccuracies. So, all of the traits we test for are rated on a scale from one to ten, with ten meaning they exhibit the trait the most. For return concubines, we also take into account customer feedback.”

“Okay,” Keith said, signaling that she could continue.

“Brilliant. Alright, the first trait is intelligence.”

“Um, I guess anything above a two,” Keith said. She laughed at that, though Keith hadn’t been trying to be funny.

“Okay, our next trait is submission,” At Keith’s somewhat confused look, she elaborated. “That basically means how much they defer to vampires, how respectful they are. It typically translates directly into the bedroom, if that’s something you’re interested in.” Keith couldn’t believe that he was actually having that conversation.

“Nothing higher than an eight, then.”

“Awesome, the next trait is aggression. Some patrons prefer a human who doesn’t submit easily so that’s why we include that.” Keith blinked for a long moment.

“Um. Less than a six?”

“That’s a good choice. Our next trait is conversation. That basically means how talkative a concubine is or sometimes how interesting the conversation is, though that’s typically based more on customer reviews than our preliminary test.”

“At least a three, I suppose.”

“Great. Our last trait is organization and housework capabilities. That applies mostly to people looking for a real companionship type of concubine.”

“Oh, um. That I honestly don’t care about, sorry,” He said, reluctant to express a lack of opinion again, but not feeling like making something up.

“It’s alright. That was the last question. So, the computer is going to tabulate the results and then spit out a list of all potential candidates. From that list, you can choose anyone to be your concubine. If you don’t see anyone you like, we can easily readjust the criteria we use to select candidates. Each candidate’s profile will also contain any known background information as well as the typical cost of contract, but obviously that doesn’t apply to you. Ah, here we go, the results are up!” She had said. As promised, she turned the computer to him. There were 28 results fitting his criteria.

The first candidate was named Nolan Chapman. The picture in the file showed that he was blond, with a thin face. He was 20 years old, his aggression was a one, and his conversation was a two. Under his background information it stated that his entire family had lost their lives during the revolution. Looking at his picture made Keith’s stomach sink. He had quietly flipped to the next profile. And the next. And the next. He’d been probably about half way through before he got to Lance’s.

The picture of Lance included in his profile was clearly taken after the Revolution. Galrad had pictures and documentation of every human. He was against a grey stone background and his brown hair was visibly mussed. Lance wasn’t smiling in the picture, but he wasn’t frowning either. Unlike many of the other candidates, he was staring straight at the camera. There was a certain light in his eyes, as if he was enjoying a joke that no one was in on but him. There was also a certain hardness in his eyes, a determination that Keith hadn’t seen in anybody since the formation of Galrad. He slowly read Lance’s file.

Lance had a nine in conversation, which Keith would later laugh about because it should have been a ten. He had a three in both submission and aggression, though Keith would come to learn that neither of those were entirely true. Intelligence was a four. It was low, but not so low it was suspicious. It should have been suspicious, however, because Lance had fudged those test results and he was much smarter than he’d ever let on to Galrad.

According to Lance’s file, he’d been a Reconcilist before the revolution. After the reveal of vampires, some humans had been in favor of cooperation. Reconcilists sympathized with vampires, donating blood and fighting for a world where they could live together. Reconcilists were sometimes hated by other humans because they were viewed as traitors, and they were oppressed by vampires just as harshly. Still, it was probably part of the reason Lance hadn’t been Banked or Bred.

Also according to Lance’s file, some of his family had been killed, some of them were status unknown, out of the country. Before the revolution he’d been in college, getting a degree in aeroscience. He’d been captured trying to get civilians across the border into Canada. He hadn’t been a concubine before. He was in Housing and he worked in childcare at the CIC. He was 22 years old. He had type O negative blood. He had a fire in his eyes that Keith had never seen before. He didn’t even bother looking at the rest of the candidates. He wasn’t sure why he’d been drawn to Lance’s profile. There really wasn’t any logical reason for it.

Keith hadn’t known then that Lance McClain would become so valuable to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I updated a little earlier than I thought. Oh well.  
> Please, comment! Let me know what you think of the story, or if there's anything you'd like to see or anything you've seen that you've liked.   
> Anyway, thank you for reading!
> 
> I might start doing chapter previews. Next chapter will be Lance-centric.


	4. 9 to 5

When Lance woke the next morning, Keith was already gone. He supposed he had wanted to avoid seeing him after their fight last night. Lance couldn’t blame him.

Lance went through his morning routine somberly. He showered for longer than he should have, letting the water wash over him in an attempt to wash away reality. He dressed himself in soft red pants and a bright red shirt, intentionally too loose on his frame. Lance was a concubine, so his designated color was a bright red, much more vibrant than the red all the non-concubine humans wore. Lance hated the color red.

By the time Lance made it outside, Hunk was already waiting for him. Hunk was a non-conc so the red jacket he wore was so dark it was almost brown. He smiled warmly at Lance before lowering his face. Happiness in Galrad was suspicious. Humans couldn’t be seen enjoying their lives.

“Let the blood flow freely,” Lance whispered.

“Blessed be the Commanders,” Hunk replied, equally as softly. They walked side by side, silently for a moment, waiting to pass by the Fangs on the street. Fangs were the vampire military, some working as soldiers and others working as spies. Most of them were Turned vampires, eager to move up in the world. They wouldn’t hesitate to put down a rebellious human.

Once the Fangs were a good distance behind them, Hunk leaned over to Lance, head bowed in.

“I heard ‘Xandria escaped across the border,” He whispered. Alexandria had been a concubine, like Lance. The Commander she was placed with was a thousand times worse than Keith could ever be. She was often seen covered in bite marks, too weak to walk without being supported by her walking partner. Lance could only pray she’d been strong enough to make it across the border.

“Indiana or Canada?”

“Canada. Indiana’s still too war torn.”

“The Network didn’t get her out, did they?” Lance asked. If it had been the Network, Lance was sure he would’ve heard. Hunk shook his head.

“No, she just made a break for it.”

“Wow,” Lance said, the low pitch of his voice failing to convey the pure awe he felt. It was hard enough to get out when the Network was involved, it was damn near impossible alone. They were coming upon a few more Fangs and the two humans fell silent. Lance wanted to ask Hunk if he had gotten any other assignments from the Network.

Lance didn’t get to do too much. His position as a concubine was valuable in that he could often obtain information. He’d pass that information to Hunk, and Hunk would get it to the head of the Network. He wasn’t in a position where he could really do much ground work.

Still, Lance had been itching for a mission for weeks, months maybe. He would do whatever he could to undermine Galrad. Information transfer was crucial. Smuggling contraband was helpful. Getting people across any international borders was brilliant. Killing Commanders was best.

“Any word on the Washington Sanctions?” Hunk asked after they passed the Fangs, pulling Lance out of his thoughts.

“They haven’t passed yet, but they’re close,” Lance informed him.

“Damn it.”

“It’s better sanctions than another war front. We won’t be able to get any people across the southern border if it’s a warzone,” Lance reasoned.

“You’re right, you’re right. Still, we can’t let Washington fall because of economic pressure either,” Hunk said it so quietly Lance could barely hear him, but he nodded in agreement.

“Any orders from the Network?” Lance asked as they got closer to the doors of the Center for Imperial Children.

“No, nothing that we can do, at least,” Hunk said. The two fell silent after that, checking in to work and beginning their day in earnest.

Lance’s work was one of the less demanding jobs Galrad had to offer humans. He was in charge of watching Pureblood vampire children. Obviously, he and the other human employees were kept under strict guard by Fangs, so they couldn’t try anything. Even if given the opportunity, Lance would never hurt any of the vampire children. They were innocent, not at fault for the sins of their parents. A small voice in the back of Lance’s head whispered that they wouldn’t be children forever, that one day they would take up the mantle their parents left behind. Still, he’d never hurt a child. Not even a vampire.

Working with the children reminded Lance a lot of his life, before. He had many siblings, most younger than him. Lance was good at talking with kids, good at corralling them. Silently he hoped he could influence them to feel more warmly towards humans, though he doubted he could. He found himself enjoying his job nonetheless.

It was dangerous for Lance to like his work, for several reasons. First, if Lance got too attached to the vampire children he worked with, it could become difficult to work against the empire their parents built. Second, the children could become attached to Lance, meaning it would be more difficult for him to go undetected. Third, working around vampires, even young ones, always had the potential for disaster. As a result of the dangers his job presented, Lance found himself constantly pushing the kids away. It made it easier.

Despite the risks, Lance’s job was relatively relaxed. Lance could cradle vampire children mindlessly in his arms and let his thoughts wander, which he frequently did. Today, it wandered to Keith.

Lance thought about the news Keith had told him the previous night. He had to stop himself from physically shivering at the thought of being Lotor’s concubine.

Lotor had quite the reputation, not only for being a Commander. His concubines lasted for a notoriously short time under his care. While it was not considered taboo for human concubines to die under the care of Commanders, it was very frightening for humans. Lance’s old walking partner had been a concubine for Lotor. She had lived three weeks before he’d drained her of blood completely.

Lance was afraid that that would soon be him. He wondered if maybe he could contribute the most to the Network by killing Lotor. As the son of the Supreme Commander, Lotor’s death would have quite the impact. In recent months, Lance had felt his chance of escape were especially low. If he was going to be stuck in Galrad for the rest of his life, he may as well do something meaningful with the time he had left. He pushed the thought out of his mind, not wanting to fully delve into the implications of what he was thinking.

Instead, Lance began to think about what it would mean to no longer be Keith’s concubine. They had been together for almost a year. Lance had grown used to Keith’s presence in his life. Hell, he’d even grown fond of Keith during their time together. Keith was the only vampire Lance had been a concubine to.

The concubine program was nonvoluntary. All humans, even the old ones, were immediately available for rent under government contracts. Commanders were the primary purchasers, but any vampire could potentially purchase a contract. The most common agreement was a rent based one. Some rented by the week, some by the year. Very few vampires actually purchased a concubine. This was mostly due to the fact that concubines typically had a short life span and it was considered a poor investment.

Keith had been nothing Lance expected from a vampire, much less a Commander. When they first met, Keith had made it very clear that he hadn’t wanted a concubine. That in itself was rather rare. Vampires believed humans to be subservient in every way, dominating them was believed to be their natural position. No vampires balked at fulfilling their God given position in life.

Keith had also made it very clear that he didn’t want anything sexual, or even romantic, from Lance. Even after Keith had fallen in love with him, he didn’t push Lance or try to do anything with him.

Lance was almost one hundred percent sure that Keith loved him. At the very least, Keith was attracted to him, and cared for him deeply. At first, it had been intentional. Lance knew that his best chance of survival- of being sure that Keith wouldn’t just drain him of blood- was to make Keith care about him.

In the early days of their arrangement, Lance made sure he presented himself very carefully. He spoke quietly, he looked at Keith from under his eyelashes. He’d been the very picture of submissive human. As he got to know Keith a little more, his tactics changed. He knew Keith needed to respect him. So, Lance let his intelligence show now and then, just a little. He’d never done anything to appear rebellious, that was far too dangerous. Still, a comment or quip here or there let Keith know that he wasn’t just an empty shell.

Then, as the months oozed on, Lance realized there were certain surprising things about him that Keith really liked. Keith liked it when Lance cooked in his kitchen, singing and dancing to whatever horrible song was on the government approved music station. Keith liked it when Lance made jokes that were only funny because they were bad. Keith even liked it when Lance was honest with him, allowing his emotions to come through in full force.

It struck Lance one day, a couple of months ago, that Keith genuinely liked him. He liked Lance, not the subservient, submissive version of himself he’d initially peddled. That had come as a shock, for several reasons. Even before, Lance had never actually been that popular with guys or girls. He’d tried, Lance had practically invented bad flirting, but he was nothing special. It was also surprising because Keith didn’t seem to like very many people, so it made even less sense that Lance was one of the few he did.

What surprised Lance even more than the fact that Keith loved him, truly loved him, was the fact that Lance cared about Keith, too. He didn’t think he loved him, didn’t think he could, not in the world they were in. But, he genuinely enjoyed Keith’s company. He wanted Keith to be safe and to be happy. He cared.

***

“Is it true?” Hunk asked Lance, as soon as they began their walk home.

“Is what true?”

“Are you being sold to Lotor?” Hunk asked, tone urgent. Lance pursed his lips.

“That’s what it looks like, yeah. My commander keeps saying he’s gonna figure something out so the sale doesn’t go through, but I don’t see that happening. How’d you hear?”

“Matt told me. Fuck,” Hunk breathed out. Lance nodded in affirmation. They were walking close to a pair of Fangs so they fell silent.

“Okay, I’ll talk to my Network contact and see what we can do about getting you out,” Hunk said once they were in the clear. Lance shook his head.

“No, Hunk. The Network gets people out when they can. I shouldn’t be a priority,” Lance assured him. Hunk put his arm out in front of Lance to stop him from walking. He turned to face him directly.

“Lance, you’ve heard the stories coming from Lotor’s concubines. Or, really, you hear the stories from Lotor’s concubines’ _walking partners_ because his concubines don’t live that long. He doesn’t go more than a week without a concubine and none of them last more than two months. Getting sent there is a death sentence.” Lance glared at him, starting to walk again.

“I know that, Hunk, but-”

“If you know that then why don’t you want to try to get out?”

“Because if it’s not me, it’s someone else,” Lance hissed. “Look. Lotor is going to take a concubine. If I leave the country, he’ll just take someone else. This way, I can hold that off for a little bit. Besides, Lotor is just going to hurt me to hurt Keith. Hopefully that means he’ll drag it out a bit and the Network will have time to get other concubines out before Lotor can hurt them, too.”

“Lance, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Hunk whispered harshly. Lance didn’t respond. “You can’t honestly think that’s a rational choice. Lotor’s a vampire, he’s going to take concubines as long as he’s alive, which will probably be forever. You willingly going as some sort of sacrifice isn’t going to change anything, and it’s certainly not going to help anyone.”

“I think there is a way to help,” Lance said. “A way to really help.” Hunk just stared at him, like he’d grown an extra arm. “You’re right, Lotor is a vampire. He’s been around for centuries and he’ll be around for more and he’ll keep taking concubines. It’s not right. But we’ve got an advantage. Concubines never know where they’re going. I do. Okay? That’s to our favor. Talk to your Network contact. If you can get me a weapon, I can kill him.”

“That’s even more insane, Lance,” Hunk said, rushing the words through his teeth.

“I have to at least try,” Lance said but Hunk just shook his head. “He’s killed our friends, Hunk. Don’t tell me you forget them.”

“Of course not, but-”

“I’m not running, Hunk. Not when I know I can stop him. Will you help me or not?” Lance said. Hunk nodded reluctantly.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, sorry it's been a little while. Hope you liked the chapter! Let me know what you thought in the comments. They motivate me to write and I absolutely love the feeling I get when I see them. I hope to update next week. Thank you for reading!!!


	5. Lazy Days

When Keith got home from work he was relieved to see Lance curled up on the couch, swaddled in a blanket. Lance was staring at the TV, but his eyes were glazed over. Keith was surprised to see him watching the security camera feed. Nothing was happening at the moment, but Keith could only imagine the horrors that flashed across the screen. He reached for the remote and turned the TV off. Lance didn’t react.

“Lance,” Keith began. “We need to talk.”

“About what?” Lance pulled the blanket up under his chin.

“We need to talk about what we’re going to do.”

“We can’t do anything, Keith. We talked already. He hates you. He’ll do whatever he can to hurt you. That just means hurting me. There’s nothing we can do. The sooner you accept that, the better.” Lance said, looking straight ahead with the same glazed over expression. Keith moved to kneel in front of him, trying to meet his eyes.

“I can’t accept that. Lance, I won’t accept that. There’s gotta be something we can do. There’s gotta be,” Keith said. He could tell that Lance wasn’t hearing him. Slowly, as gently as he could, Keith put his hands on the sides of Lance’s face.

“I won’t let him hurt you, Lance,” Keith promised. Lance finally looked at him.

“You can’t-”

“I will not let him hurt you,” Keith repeated slowly. “I don’t care what it’ll take, you will be okay, Lance. I need you to believe me. I need you to try. Please, Lance? Believe me?” Keith said, trying not to let the intensity spill out of his voice and failing miserably. Lance looked at him for a long moment, searching his face. Keith wasn’t sure what he had been looking for but he seemed to have found it because he nodded.

“Okay, Keith. I believe you,” He said quietly, and Keith knew that he didn’t.

***

Lance’s birthday had been a few months ago. He’d turned 23.

“How old are you, Keith?” Lance asked him on his birthday. Keith sighed. They were lying on Keith’s bed, side by side, staring up at the ceiling. Keith could hear Lance breathing next to him. He turned his head to face him. Lance had his eyes closed, head resting on Keith’s white pillow, sunlight streaming in from the nearby window and lighting up his face. He laid back to stare at the ceiling.

“I was turned when I was 24.”

“How many years ago was that?”

“Two and a half.”

Lance hummed quietly. Keith had to fight to keep his heartbeat in check. He sometimes felt uncomfortable talking about his vampire side. Age especially made him feel weird.

“Who turned you?” Lance asked, looking as if he expected a reprimand for asking. Keith couldn’t help but be a little hurt. Lance could ask him whatever he wanted, in the rudest way possible and Keith doubted he would be able to get angry.

“A friend. You don’t know him. He’s a pureblood vampire, but he’s not a Commander. He turned me before… everything. He didn’t want me to-” Keith cut himself off. He looked at Lance slowly.

“He didn’t want you to be human in this,” Lance finished for him. Keith swallowed before nodding slowly. “That was good of him.” Lance offered.

“Do you wish that you were a vampire?” Keith asked. Lance answered without thought.  
“No. I couldn’t be responsible for this. I’d probably be happier if I was a vampire, but I couldn’t,” He said. Keith fought off the pang of guilt that hit his chest.

“If it wasn’t like this, if everything was how it had been before, would you? Living forever… would you want to?” Keith asked. Lance did think before he answered that question.

“I still don’t think I would. Not unless everyone I loved was a vampire, too. Even then, I’m not sure,” Lance said, then paused before continuing. “I don’t know if I’d be able to live without Cuban food.” He joked, and Keith laughed despite himself. He faced Lance head on.

“Lance, I could put in a request to turn you,” He said genuinely. Lance burst out laughing.

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’m serious,” Keith said, and he was. If Lance was a vampire, he’d be relatively free. He’d be a Turned, so he’d be lower class, but it was infinitely better than life as a human. Lance just sighed.

“I meant it, Keith. I couldn’t be responsible for this.”  
“But you wouldn’t be. Everything bad has already happened. Turning you into a vampire now wouldn’t mean that you caused any of it. You could be a vampire. You could be free.”

“No. I can’t. I’m human, Keith. I like being human, even now. I want to be free, but I won’t sacrifice my humanity to do it. I won’t. Besides, even if you put in a request to Turn me, it would probably be denied.”

“But-”

“Don’t worry about it, Keith,” Lance said, ending the conversation. After a long pause, he spoke again.

“What day is it, Keith?”

“July 28th.”

“I thought so,” Lance said simply. “I just wanted to check.”

“Any special occasion?”

“My birthday,” Lance said. Keith jumped up from the bed. Lance sat up to stare at him.

“Lance, why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just did,” Lance said, but Keith ignored him, plowing on.

“We need to celebrate!” Keith said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I don’t want to celebrate,” Lance said quietly.

“What?” Keith felt his face fall. “What do you mean?” Lance just shrugged, choosing not to elaborate. Keith sat down on the bed.

“Okay, I mean, we don’t have to. I just thought maybe… maybe you’d want to,” He said, feeling completely small. Lance reached out, laying his hand gently over Keith’s. Keith held his breath.

“I appreciate the thought, I do. It’s just, I’ve only ever celebrated my birthday with my family. It would feel wrong to celebrate without them,” Lance explained. Keith nodded.

“I understand,” He said, before changing the topic. “Do you want to sleep in here tonight?” Keith said, gesturing weakly to his bed. Lance smiled, any trace of sadness or longing erased from his face immediately.

“Yes, my bed is too far,” Lance reasoned, stretching and laying back on the bed. They lay in silence as the sun went down. It took Lance longer than usual to fall asleep, but he was soon snoring. Keith stared at him as he slept, admiring the soft curl to his hair, the high curve of his cheekbones. He should feel like a creep, he really should. Keith was just too damn obsessed to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah an update, hope you like it. Comments really motivate me to write, so consider dropping one below :).  
> Thank you for reading!!


	6. O Brother, Where Art Thy Courage?

Before Lance came into Keith’s life, Shiro was easily the most important person to him. Shiro was Keith’s mentor, in truth, he had raised Keith. In fact, Shiro was the vampire responsible for turning Keith.

Keith hadn’t known Shiro was a vampire when they first met. It hadn’t been until about a year before Zarkon’s revolution that Shiro had revealed to Keith that he was a vampire.

Sometimes Keith thought that Shiro had made the wrong choice. He’d turned Keith into a vampire, but he’d let his boyfriend, Adam, remain a human. Adam. Keith tried to avoid thinking about Adam when he could. He couldn’t even imagine how Shiro felt about it all.

Adam and Shiro had been together for about three years before Zarkon’s revolution. After Shiro had turned Keith, he had tried to turn Adam, too, but Adam had begged him not to. Even through Shiro’s panic, he’d managed to listen, and he’d left Adam human. Then, things got worse. The borders started closing up. Shiro had managed to smuggle Adam across the northern border into Canada, but he hadn’t been able to go with him.

Shiro hadn’t been the same after that. He still tried, he still smiled even when Keith could tell he didn’t want to. But it ate at him: what the vampires were doing to the humans, what he’d lost, what he’d done.

Whenever Keith went to visit Shiro, he wasn’t sure which version of Shiro he’d get. It was rare that Shiro was happy Shiro. More often than not, Shiro was melancholy, had little to no energy, and just seemed emotionally drained. Still, occasionally Keith got a glimpse of the Shiro he was used to, the strong Shiro, the inspirational Shiro. He had no idea what Shiro to expect today.

With a shaky breath, Keith walked up to Shiro’s door and knocked on it. He’d taken the afternoon off of work and he knew that Shiro didn’t ever work Mondays, so he knew without calling ahead Shiro should answer. Still, a long moment went by and Keith knocked again. Another long moment and finally, Shiro answered the door.

“Keith,” He said, in mild surprise, though he gave a small smile nonetheless. “C’mon in.” He stepped aside to gesture Keith indoors.

Shiro’s house was almost the complete opposite of Keith’s. Where Keith’s house was very large, Shiro’s was on the smaller side. Instead of a prison like emptiness, Shiro’s house felt lived in. There was plenty of worn in furniture, paintings and pictures on every wall, books stacked on desks, papers strewn about, warm light oozing from countless corners. It was ironic, really, because Keith was sure his house looked sadder than Shiro’s, but he also felt he was happier, that his life was brighter.

Shiro ushered him into the living room, moving a pillow or two to make room for Keith on the far end of the sofa. The cushion sank immediately when Keith sat down, making him feel like he was being eaten by the couch. Shiro sat on the other end of the couch, body turned fully towards Keith.

“What’s up, Keith?” He asked innocuously.

“It’s Lance,” He explained, and Shiro immediately seemed concerned.

“Is everything alright?”

“Our arrangement is due to be up in three weeks. I marked intent not to renew when I first signed, and he’s already been purchased,” Keith furthered. Shiro sighed.

“Are you opening bids?”

“It’s Lotor who’s trying to purchase,” Keith elaborated, finally meeting Shiro’s eyes. At Keith’s reveal, Shiro shrank back into the couch, shoulders falling.

“Shit, Keith,” Shiro said, and Keith nodded. Shit about summed it up. “I guess you know you won’t be able to outbid him.”

“I need your help, Shiro,” Keith said, and Shiro looked taken aback.

“Keith, there’s no way I can afford to he-”

“That’s not what I meant,” Keith cut him off, then sucked in a breath. “You work at the Center of Human Control. You have access to all of the chips that track the humans.”

“Yeah…” Shiro agreed slowly, clearly unsure of where Keith was going with that.

“If you turn Lance’s off, I can make it look like he ran away. I can hide him until things die down. Lotor would never get his hands on him. All you’d have to do is turn Lance’s chip off, make it look like it was destroyed somehow.” Shiro sat back when Keith finished, examining him slowly.

“No,” Shiro said after a moment. Keith stared at him.

“No?” He asked incredulously and Shiro shook his head.

“No,” He repeated. “It’s too risky.”

“Too risky?” Keith asked, perplexed. “All you have to do is turn his chip off! It’s not like I’m asking you to smuggle him out of the country, Shiro.”

“You asked for my help and I said no,” Shiro said and Keith clenched his fists. “There’s nothing more to discuss, Keith.”

“Bullshit,” Keith said. “You can’t just say no. This is Lance’s only chance- if we don’t find a way to save him Lotor will kill him!”

“And I hope you do find a way to save him,” Shiro said. “I just can’t be part of it.”

“What happened to you?” Keith asked, shaking his head and standing. “Lance is going to die and you won’t help because it’s “too risky”? You are not the person I knew, Shiro. You are not acting like the person I called family.”

“I’m sorry, Keith, really, I am,” Shiro said, looking more hurt than apologetic. “But my answer is still no.”

“You’re a fucking coward, Shiro,” Keith said, standing up in a huff and storming out of Shiro’s house before he could apologize again.

***

Keith remembered a time he’d fought with Lance. It had been relatively early on in their arrangement, but they’d begun to reach an understanding. Looking back on it, Keith could see the fight was his fault, but he hadn’t felt like that at the time.

Lance got back from work and Keith could tell something was wrong. He dragged his feet when he’d walked in the door. His eyes were glazed over and his shoulders were drooped. Keith hadn’t understood why he was upset.

“Hey, Lance, are you alright?” Keith said in greeting. Lance didn’t respond. “Lance?”

“I’m fine,” Lance whispered after a moment. Keith, who had been sitting on the couch next to Lance, turned to face him.

“Really? Because you don’t seem fine,” He’d pushed. Lance shook his head.

“I’m fine,” He assured him, clearing his throat.

“Lance. You can talk to me. What’s bothering you?” Keith asked. Lance wouldn’t look at him.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Keith.”

“Are you sure? Because I think that it wou-”

“Keith,” Lance snapped at him. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He bit out slowly. Lance got up to leave but Keith stood, too.

“Look, Lance, I’m just trying to ask what’s wrong, okay, you don’t have to-”

“God, Keith! Can you leave me alone? Okay, please? I don’t want to talk about it. You wouldn’t get it and I don’t feel like getting into it tonight, so just leave it,” Lance said, throwing his hands up in the air. At that point, Keith knew that he should drop it. He knew that if Lance was asking him to leave him alone, he should. But he didn’t. Keith hadn’t understood why Lance was icing him out and he’d pressed him anyway.

“Okay, fine, Lance, don’t tell me what’s wrong! But don’t snap at me, okay, I’m just trying to-”

“Hazel’s dead, Keith,” Lance cut him off easily, eyes wet with unshed tears but voice shaking with anger. “You don’t know her. She worked at the Center and she didn’t show up for work today. I asked around. Her commander finally drained her. He sucked all her blood and she died, okay?” Keith felt his shoulders crumble. He hadn’t expected that.

“Lance, I…” But Lance wasn’t done.

“And you don’t get it, Keith. You’re a goddamn commander. You don’t have anything to worry about,” Lance wrapped his arms around his middle in an attempt to stem his shaking shoulders. “And you know the worst part, Keith? I didn’t care that she died. I mean, I did, but not the way I would have before. I was upset because I kept thinking about who was next. Hunk’s a non-con so he’s fine, as long as a fang doesn’t get him. But Alexandria has a really mean Commander and he might drain her soon. Brooke’s probably fine for now but her contract is set to expire and she doesn’t think her commander will renew so who knows. There’s no time to mourn because we’re just preparing for the next death. I even-” Lance cut himself off, eyes suddenly trained on the floor.

“What, Lance?” Keith said, as gently as he could. He could hear Lance’s heart beating, so hard it almost hurt his ears to focus on it.

“I even worried,” Lance said slowly. “About what would happen to me. With you.” He admitted, eyes remaining on the floor. Keith stared at him for a moment. He took a tentative step forward, though Lance shrunk in on himself.

“Lance,” Keith said, voice low. “You have to know that I would never, ever hurt you.”

“Hazel’s commander said the exact same thing, Keith,” Lance responded, his voice so quiet Keith wouldn’t have been able to hear him if he wasn’t a vampire. Lance seemed to regret what he said, like he was afraid of what Keith would do if he accused him of being dangerous. Keith tried to change tactics.

“I haven’t hurt you before, have I?” When Lance didn’t answer, Keith suddenly became less sure of himself. “Have I?”

“No, Keith, you haven’t hurt me. But you’re not the only thing I have to worry about. Fangs are everywhere. There’s nothing stopping me from getting Banked. Or… or from getting sent to the CHC.”

“I would never let that happen to you. Okay? I have pull, as a Commander. I have power. Nothing is going to happen to you here,” Keith said. He wanted to reach out and grab Lance by the shoulders, tug him into a hug, but he didn’t. He did, however, take a shaky step forward. This time, Lance didn’t recoil. “And… I know that that puts you in an uncomfortable position. I know that you feel like you need to be perfect so I don’t get mad at you and hurt you. I know that you’re afraid of doing something wrong. But, I promise you, Lance, you don’t have to worry, okay? You can be mean to me, get mad at me, you can be the worst concubine ever and I still won’t let anything happen to you.”

Lance looked at him then, tears still welled in his eyes but refusing to roll down his cheeks. He dropped his arms from where they were wrapped around his middle, taking a step forward and tilting his head down. Keith didn’t wait to bring Lance into his arms. His arms wrapped easily around Lance’s thinner frame, his hands stroking up and down Lance’s back in an attempt to soothe him. Lance didn’t sob, didn’t give any indication that he was crying, but Keith could feel a wet spot growing on his shoulder.

Neither of them mentioned the fact that Keith could only protect Lance. There was nothing either of them could do for any of the other humans. Lance’s friends, his coworkers, they would never be safe. Even despite all of Keith’s promises, there was no guarantee that Lance would be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, sorry it took so long to update!! I've just been super busy, but I shouldn't be as busy now, so hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently. Comments still make my day and they honestly help me so much to get started on a draft so consider dropping one!!


	7. Sold! To the man with the killer smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! With yet another title change XD

“I did what you asked,” Hunk said on their walk to work. “I talked to the Network about getting you a weapon.”

“And?” Lance whispered excitedly, though Hunk’s hesitant tone did not match his own.

“ _And_ they said they’ll get you one if you end up being purchased by Lotor.”

“Thank you,” Lance breathed out a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t go down without a fight.

***

Lance, as his time with Keith threatened to end, kept finding himself overcome by memories of their time together. The one that plagued him the most, for reasons that eluded him still, was the first time he saw Shiro, which had happened several months prior.

“Keith, you know it’s the smart thing to do,” Said a voice that seemed to be emanating from the living room. Lance stood at the bottom of the staircase, out of sight, but able to hear everything that was happening, though he worried that the strength of vampire senses meant his presence was not as secret as he’d like it to be.

“Is it? We can’t divvy our resources on a two front war like that. It would spread us too thin.”

“So? It’s not about our resources, it’s about-”

“What?” Keith snapped. “Expanding the glorious empire? I know you don’t believe that bull, Shiro.”

“Master?” Lance said quietly, making his presence more formally known. He hated calling Keith master, but they had company and they had to keep up appearances. Keith and the visitor were indeed standing in the living room, though the atmosphere was incredibly tense for the comfortable room.

“Lance,” Keith said, clearly a little taken aback to see him. “Shiro, this is my concubine, Lance. Lance, this is Takashi Shirogane.” Shiro, who’d seemed very intrigued by Lance’s entrance, turned to face him and he suddenly felt uncomfortable under the direct attention.

“Lance,” The Commander said slowly, smiling a movie star smile. “Pleased to meet you.” He reached a hand out towards Lance, as if he expected him to shake his hand. Lance looked at Keith, unsure of what to do. It was considered incredibly taboo for any human to make physical contact with a vampire. Concubines legally couldn’t touch a vampire they didn’t belong to, according to their contract.

“It’s alright, Lance,” Keith said softly, eyes darting between Lance and Shiro’s outstretched hand. Lance looked up at Shiro to see him smiling warmly. Slowly, he extended his hand out to take Shiro’s. They stood like that for a moment that seemed to last ages. Shiro brought his other hand up to rest on Lance’s elbow, like they were closing some sort of business deal. Suddenly, without any warning, Shiro used his grip on Lance’s arm to pull him forward, so that Shiro’s mouth was right up against his ear. Lance struggled for a moment but Shiro’s vampiric strength didn’t give any leeway.

“Lance, is Keith mistreating you?” Shiro whispered harshly in his ear.

“Shiro,” Keith said in a warning tone. Lance didn’t respond, he had no idea what was going on and what he was supposed to say.

“If something is wrong, you can tell me,” Shiro pressed on, in that same strained tone that sounded somehow genuine.

“Shiro,” Keith said again, louder. “Shiro!” He finally shouted, and Shiro released Lance from his grip.

“Lance, go back upstairs,” Keith said, his tone much softer, but still tense. Lance didn’t need to be told twice. He backed away, still staring at Shiro, unsure of what to expect, but afraid of looking away. He hurried up the stairs.

He didn’t have vampire hearing, but he could make out their tones. Shiro and Keith spent a good ten minutes shouting back and forth. Then they hushed their tones. Lance could make out a buzzing sort of energy in their words, a kind of intensity that had no place in a living room, but he had no idea what they were talking about. Lance eventually heard the door close, then feet on the stairs. Keith rapped lightly on Lance’s door, though it was open.

Lance was sitting on his bed with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cloak. Keith gingerly sat on the bed in front of him, criss cross applesauce, like kindergarten.

“Are you… alright?” Keith asked slowly. Lance nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m alright. What did he want, though?” Lance asked. Keith’s mouth tightened.

“It’s political stuff, you wouldn’t care,” Keith said, trying to dismiss him. Lance looked at Keith sarcastically.

“Keith,” Lance prompted simply.

“He wanted me to support the war in Indiana. Zarkon is holding a vote next week to decide whether or not to go to war. He wants that capital, God knows why, so he’ll probably push for war anyway, but a lot of council members want to fight against D.C. instead. Zarkon respects me, so do some of the other commanders, so if I say we should attack Indiana, we probably will,” Keith explained, and Lance nodded along.

“So, why does Shiro want you to push into Indiana?”

“I have no idea. He wouldn’t say. He just said it wouldn’t be wise to fight in D.C. right now. I don’t know.”

“What do you think you’ll do?” Lance asked. Keith sighed, clearly unsure himself.

“War is inevitable. It makes sense to go to Indiana first, because DC is better supplied. We should expand the country first before we waste all our resources fighting a war of attrition. Lotor wants to fight in Washington, though, and he’ll be pissed if I disagree with him. In fact, Lotor is the only reason Zarkon hasn’t gone into Indiana already. I don’t exactly need another enemy right now,” Keith said, mostly just thinking out loud.

“Aren’t you kind of already enemies?” Lance pointed out. Keith nodded in agreement. “And you and Shiro clearly aren’t on the best of terms.” Keith agreed again. “It seems to me that no matter what you do, Lotor will hate you. But, if you vote to fight in Indiana, you tell Zarkon what he wants to hear, and maybe you smooth things over with Shiro.”

“You know you scored a four in intelligence on the concubine preliminary test?” Keith asked, smiling. Lance laughed.

“Oh, I’m a complete dumbass,” Lance assured him, face completely serious. Keith began to laugh. The casual language caught him off guard, and he was reminded of how different the world had been a few years ago. It wasn’t really that funny, but Keith laughed for a long time. Lance chucked too, then stopped and stared at Keith for a minute.

“Keith, who is Shiro to you?” Lance asked quietly.

“Shiro is the vampire who turned me,” Keith said simply.

“Is that all he is?” Lance asked like he knew something.

“Shiro basically raised me,” Keith admitted quietly. “Before all this, I lost my parents when I was a kid. Shiro was a family friend and he took me in. Honestly, he’s like a brother to me.”

“What happened? To make him like that?” Lance asked tentatively, worried about treading on some sore territory.

“He lost his partner, Adam. He’s not dead, at least to my knowledge, but he’s in Canada and Shiro hasn’t seen him in years. He took it hard, being separated like that. I also think the fact that he was part of something so evil just, I don’t know, _broke_ something inside of him. He used to be a lot more relaxed than he is now, a lot less paranoid. His hear was in the right place, but I’m sorry he scared you.”

“No,” Lance waved him off. “It was… a little odd, yeah, but it’s actually a little reassuring that he asked if I was alright, even if it was kind of uncomfortable. I’m sorry he thought that about you, though.”

Keith shook his head, “Like I said, he’s gotten more paranoid, and I can’t really blame him for that. Besides, if I ever were to hurt you, it’s nice to know that Shiro would kick my ass.”

“I don’t think you’d ever hurt me,” Lance said, eyes startlingly reminiscent of a puppy.

“I don’t think I would either,” Keith agreed. “You mean too much to me.” His pale face turned bright red when he realized what he’d said. “I-I don’t mean-”

“No, I didn’t think that you-”

“-it’s just-”

“I mean, believe me, of all people, I should-”

“... you know? And of course I care, but-”

“I get it, I know what you mean!

“Right.”

“Right,” Lance agreed, smiling softly. Keith breathed in slowly. They had gone to bed that night, and Lance had thought long and hard about the paranoid vampire asking him, in a terrifying manner, if he was alright.

In truth, he had been scared of Shiro when it had first happened. He hadn’t known the vampire, and he’d assumed that Shiro was trying to get him to betray his Master just so he had reason to punish him. But, when Keith had explained Shiro’s history, it became clear to Lance that Shiro hated Galrad perhaps even more than he did. He’d come to understand that Shiro’s behavior, odd and awkward that it was, was born out of genuine care for Lance’s wellbeing, even though Shiro did not actually know him.

Lance wasn’t sure why that memory stuck with him the way it did, but he couldn’t get it out of his head. He supposed it was because it was one of the few examples he had of a vampire aside from Keith showing him concern. It served as a reminder that despite the difference in their species, vampires were capable of kindness. It would make it all the more brutal to be treated cruelly by Lotor, a creature that he knew was capable of kindness.

***

Keith was absolutely solemn on the day of the bidding. He went alone to the Center of Concubines and Subservients, where he was led into a room with the other bidders. There was a picture projected onto the wall of Lance’s naked body, all of his statistics and test scores lined up next to him. He suppressed a shudder. No one had any right to dehumanize Lance like that. Portraying his naked body in front of these strangers made Keith want to vomit.

The strangers he was referring to were not half as strange as he’d have liked them to be. One was, of course, Lotor. The other was another commander, one dumb enough to challenge Lotor, who Keith believed was named Quetzar. He fumed at the fact that either of them were trying to take Lance away from him.

“Alright,” Said the mediator, sitting at the head of the table they were all gathered around. “Let’s begin the bidding at two million.”

“Three,” Quetzar began brashly, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

“Four,” Keith raised steadily, though a little higher than he needed to.

“Four and a half,” Quetzar continued.

“Ten,” Lotor said pompously, and Quetzar’s face fell. Keith tried to keep his cool. He had more than ten million in the bank.

“Fifteen,” He said.

“Twenty,” Lotor said quickly. Shit, that was 1.2 million more than what Keith had. No. No, it couldn’t end like this.

“Going once,” The mediator said and Keith could feel himself panicking. He didn’t have the money, but there had to be _something_ he could do. If only he’d gotten money from somewhere else… but, no, Lotor would always have more. He’d need to get Lance out somehow, but Shiro said he wouldn’t help and Keith had no idea-

“Going twice,” The mediator continued in her perfectly pristine voice. Keith’s eyes darted around the room, looking for an answer, but there was none.

***

“I’m sorry, Lance,” Hunk said the next day on their walk home from work. They fell silent as a pair of Fangs passed them.

“It’s okay. Did you get any word from your Network contact?” Lance asked, and Hunk nodded.

“They said a wooden stake will be left under one of the trash cans at your current master’s house.” They made it to the doorstep of Lance’s home.

“Hunk…” He said slowly. “If I don’t see you again…”

“Don’t talk like that,” Hunk cut him off. “You’re going to be fine.” But they both knew it was a lie. Hunk pulled him into a hug, brief but firm, that conveyed all of the things they couldn’t say. Then, Hunk was gone, and Lance walked slowly into Keith’s house, and he th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, sorry this took so long to get out, but I have a really strong outline for this fic and I don't want you guys to worry about it being abandoned, that will not happen.
> 
> Anyway, your comments really kept me going and pushed me to finally get this done (even if it didn't feel like it!), so please consider dropping one below. Let me know what you think of the story! 
> 
> Much love. Thank you for reading!


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